Evening Star Newspaper, September 24, 1935, Page 10

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition, WASHINGTON, D. C. TUESDAY ...........September 24, 1935 THEODORE W. NOYES...........Editor Pl i bt e S B The Evening Star Newspaper Company. usiness Office 11th !(,‘lxm Pennsylvania Ave. New Yurk Office: 110 East 4:nd 8t. Chicago Office: Lake Michigan Building. Puropean Office: 14 fegent St.. London. Ensland, Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition. e Evening Sm;;. ---45¢ per month vening and ;fwien‘# Sundays). &t -=-60c per month e Evening and Sunda (l'E'n 5 Sundays) 5¢c per month The Sunday Star-. - b Night Final Edition, ght Pinal and Sunday Star.. fuilection made &t the end 1 cach 1 e & oriEleSy BAOE (P Y2 SRR tional 5000. Rate by Mai ayable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. jly and Sunday...l yr. ; 1 mo., £5¢ only. 1 yr. 5 } 1 mol. bic nday” ot 1 mo.. 40c 5.00; 1 mo., Member of the Associated Press. Associated Press 1s exclusively entitled to e e o epblitation of all news dispatches eredited to it or not otherwise credited in this Paper and also the local news published herein. ALl Fights of publication of special dispaiches herein are also reserved. —_—_——— Still in the Balance. Precious days roll by in Geneva, and in the capitals vitally concerned in the Italo-Ethiopian conflict, yet crisis en- dures and the issue of peace or war hangs perilously in the balance. The circumstance that statesmen continue resolutely to grapple with the situation, to explore eagerly eyery avenue of escape from danger, remains the prin- cipal hope that a catastrophe may yet be averted. As long as actual aggression does not occur diplomacy still has its chance, and that most potent weapon of statesmanship, compromise, retains 1s usefulness. Probably more than is permitted to reach the outside world is going on be- hind the scenes with a view to avoiding the supreme tragedy. It can be assuredly assumed that none of the great powers really wants war. Certainly if Musso- lini can gain his ends without flinging his mighty military machine into action, even he must prefer to achieve glory by bloodless methods rather than risk incalculable loss of Italian life and treas- are and the existence of his Fascist throne. The conciliatory atmosphere prevalent in Rome reflects readiness to exhaust the ways of peace before rushing into the abyss of war. Two factors primarily restrain Italy from plunging to extremes. One is the firmly maintained “collective resistance” to her pretensions which the League of Nations presents. Mussolini has not con- trived to drive a single breach in that wall. His hope that France would be reluctant to jeopardize newly-won Italian friendship by siding with Great Britain has proved illusory. Premier Yaval leaves no doubt that France stands solidly for vindication of the covenant and all it represents in the African controversy. The other argument that is giving n Duce pause is the presence of the British armada in the Mediterranean. London has just informed Rome that while British measures in that region are devoid of “aggressive intentions,” they were invoked as a natural consequence of the “violence” of - the anti-British campaign in the Italian press. That is plain notice that a continuance of such attacks could lead to more active consequences than a mere display of British sea power between Gibraltar and the Suez. The press campaign has subsided. # Today’s Rome cabinet meeting may indicate what the immediate course of events is to be. Mussolini has rejected peace tefms proposed by the League Council, providing for international “gssistance” to Ethiopia, with prefer- ential privileges for Italy. The Italians have countered with a plan which would hand over all Western Ethiopia to them, give the Ethiopians access to the sea only through Italian territory, require demobilization of the Ethiopian army and place Ttaly in absolute military con- trol of the country. Haile Selassie brands such a proposition as “unthink- able.” Should it ever reach the stage of a formal proffer, it is bound to be rejected as unacceptable by the League, because it would snuff out all vestige of Ethiopian independence. Offer and counter-offer will be the order of the day as the tragic game of battledore and shuttlecock proceeds. So terribly much is at stake that mankind clings desperately to the conviction that the end of the contest must and will, after all, be peace. N Dictatorship has its discomforts as it forces an industrious and aspiring citizen into the hot spotlight. De Wolf Hopper. A public which mourns Will Rogers will sorrow also for the passing of De ‘Wolf Hopper, a genius in comedy whose career is part of the basic human fabric of the American stage. ‘Washington knew both men well and appreciated them for their undoubted gifts of mirth- provoking wit and humor. But Hopper probably was the greater artist of the two and therefore may be expected to have a more lasting influence upon the art of the theater in the United States. He spent fifty-seven years behind the footlights and died in his motley, a trooper to the last by grace of radio. The impact of his effort, however, had been registered upon the work of younger men years before his own departure from the scene, and the immortality of his methods and mannerisms thus is assured. But it may be doubted if any successor ever will be competent to present “Casey at the Bat” as Hopper did it. That ane unquestioned classic American poem is indelibly associated with his name. Clipped from a San Francisco news- paper, memorized in an hour and first recited at Wallack’s Theater, New York, May 13, 1888, the yerses were written by Ernest L. Thayer of Worcester, Mass.— not, as many erroneously supposed, by their famous populizer. The latter, as it heppened, was not truly a base ball fan until long after he had become the game’s most distinguished interpreter. He won his celebrity in that respect through the exercise of his mastery over words rather than by reason of intimate | acquaintance with or enthusiasm for the diamond. Yet even when he had read ne saga more than forty thousand times in public he still was trying to perfect his use of it. Hopper as the world saw him was & clown, but the man as he visioned him= self was an altogether different char- acter. The earnestness of his endeavor with “Casey,” as with every other role he essayed, testified to the seriousness of his approach to the problems of his profession. In his autobiography he tells with unpretending sincerity how he yearned to portray heroic figures. ‘The part in which he believed he justified his existence was that of Mark Antony in “Julius Caesar’—an ingident in the Lamb’s Gambol of 1909. But Washington will remember him for the rich and colorful share he had in the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas in which, beginning in 1911, he achieved unfading laurels. Granted that he belonged to the past, Hopper is a good memory in the hearts of those who were fortunate enough to have included him in their experience. He made laughter in a world which needed such relief, and mankind is in his debt for that if for no other service. r———————— Invitation to Strike. Assistant Secretary Edward F. McGrady of the Department of Labor has asked Harry L. Hopkins, adminis- trator in general of Government relief, to prepare to aid striking coal miners and their dependents if they are in distress. John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers of America, has been quoted as saying: “Certainly our people expect relief from the various agencies of the Government. They do not intend to starve and they do not expect the country to starve them or to permit the operators to do so.” There are prospects of an agreement between the miners and the operators which will bring the strike promptly to an end. Such a conclusion of the differ- ences which have resulted in a walkout of 400,000 miners in the soft coal flelds would be welcomed by the country. In the event, however, that there is no such agreement and the strike continues, will the recommendations of Mr. McGrady and Mr. Lewis that the Government feed and house and clothe the striking miners, if that be necessary, be carried out? Is the Government to subsidize strikes? Under the present adminis- tration in Washington the “handout” has become the recognized thing, and who would say that the administration will not back Mr. McGrady and Mr. Lewis in this demand for ammunition with which to carry the fight to the mine operators? And under what conditions are the funds of the Government to be used to grant relief in this case? The miners are striking for an increase in their pay. It is understood that concessions have been agreed to by the operators which would bring about & raise of fifty cents a day in the basic pay in Northern mines, an increase from $5 a day to $5.50; a ten per cent increase for yard- age and “dead work,” or cleaning out the mine. These concessions have, it is said, ironed out the principal items in dispute except for the pay for “piece” work for the cutting -and loading of coal. For that kind of work the min- ers have demanded an increase of ten cents a ton, and the operators have finally agreed to go up seven and one- half cents, with the miners still stand- ing out for nine cents. With a cent and a half a ton on piece work the sole re- maining difference of importance, some 400,000 miners and 2,000,000 dependents are to be affected seriously through un- employment and the Government is to be asked to come to their relief with millions of dollars. In the past the Government has un- dertaken to aid in the adjustment of labor disputes. It has been a success- ful mediator countless times. But never in the past has it undertaken to subsidize one side or the other in such disputes. If it takes such a stand now, a far-reaching precedent will have been set. With the Government readvy to back with money any labor strike, how many strikes may be expected? No one wishes the families of mine workers to starve, including the operators of the mines. There is work for the miners. If, however, they are unwilling to come to agreement, they face discomfort and need. ———— Problems have increased their range, extending from the stratosphere and the universe beyond to the bottom of a coal mine. There are moments when even the deeply esteemed Prof. Einstein seems puzzled. port and Recovery. Statisticians of the future, dealing with the figures of the American na- tional economy during the period of what has come to be known as the great depression of 1929-1935, will find an item of exceptional interest in the records of the pugilistic encounter be- tween Max Baer and Joe Louis in New York tonight. Those records are not at this writing complete, but they are sufficiently set to indicate that new marks will be made in public spending for the privilege of attending a boxing bout between two men. According to latest reports, the ca- pacity of the arena in which the fight will take place will be exhausted tonight. Yesterday twenty thousand additional seats were squeezed into the inclosure, which ordinarily in a base ball park, and these were immediately taken. The present estimate is that at least 95,000 persons will be present tonight when the fight begins, and that they will have paid something like $7,500,000 just to get to and from the fight and to be enter- tained while in New York, and probably 85 much more for their tickets, not STAR, WASHINGTO counting premiums to speculators. That would make $15,000,000. Perhaps these figures are exaggerated. The statistics of sporting events some- times are subject to that fault. However, it is plain that several million dollars have been and are being and will be spent by approximately 100,000 persons for the sake of seeing two men buffet each other in a squared circle. And it is to be remembered that this is not & championship fight. Neither man holds the title, though one of them did until recently, The present set-up in the fistic game is such that tonight's fight is vir- tually equivalent to & contest for the supreme role, inasmuch as the winner will have to meet, in challenge for the title, one who holds it by what is gen- erally regarded as a fluke, That such a contest should draw such a crowd, and at such figures, can mean only one thing. The depression is over. It is quite true that there are some odds and ends of recovery to be accounted for. A good many people are yet out of work. Many mills are idle and the indices of trade are still below normal. The New Deal is still struggling with the _problem of how to spend the way back to prosperity by increasing the taxes, But here is this phenomenon of a hundred thousand Americans spending perhaps fifteen million dollars for what passes as entertainment, lasting pos- sibly for no more than ten or fifteen minutes. If recovery can be promoted by the circulation of cash, assuredly this sporting enterprise has done its consid- erable bit toward that end. —— e Mr. Ickes allows photographs to be taken which show him with a facial expression denoting worry. In the camera smile contest Mr. Hopkins must be credited with having scored a point, ———— The idea of Senator Borah seems to be that the founders of this Republic knew what they were talking about and that it is better to be right than to be original. v The fact that gambling is on the de- cline in his vicinity does not prevent Mussolini from finding a big game in which to take a chance, —_———— Prohibition has come and gone, but dieticians have become so influential that nothing can restore the Jolly Fat Men's Club. In spite of socialistic theories, Musso- lini gives one of the most startling dis- plays of rugged individualism the world has witnessed in a long time. ————— It will be some time before Washing- ton, D. C,, is permitted to resume prece- dence over Hvde Park as the scene of national deliberations. As demands are made on Ethiopia they resolve themselves into the simple ques- tion, “What have you?” oo Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Why Geneva? The town of New York is called “little” and “old,” Though it's neither, as figures make known. It's of the New World, as its story is told, And it seems just a bit overgrown. You find colonies here, you find colonies there, Into which foreign quarrels extend. ‘We might settle some matter that causes us care By a meeting at Mulberry Bend. There’s chianti; and near may be good lager beer; ‘Tokay from Hungarian vales; Both champagne and sherry may still persevere And argue with brown British ales. And a little debate and a bit of a fight ‘Where Usquebaugh’s might may extend Should serve to turn on international light By a meeting at Mulberry Bend. Slight Eruption. “You still have faith in our form of government.” “Certainly,” said Senator Sorghum. “A nation is' a little like a human being. An occasional irritating eruption doesn’t prove there is actually anything wrong with your constitution.” Jud Tunkins says so much responsibil- ity has been placed on youth that he expects to hear complaints that children don’t raise their parents properly. Civilization’s Machinery, If business we would improve, Wherever we may find it, To start some business we’ll move And then welll try to mind it. Philosophers have made it known To master and to flunky With buzz saws that are not his own No one should ever monkey. Sentimental Evolution. “What has become of Mesa Bill?” asked the traveling man. “He has left the Guich,” answered the station agent. “Love affair?” “Started that way. affair.” Now it's a hate Nihilism. ‘The aviator likes to speed. ‘The motorist’s wild drive Bids us give heed. Some one we need No longer is alive. If population grows so dense That crowding we abhor, ‘With killing records so immense, ‘What is the use of war? — “Chillun is goin’ back to school,” said Uncle Eben, “an foh de first few minutes de traffic cop is more important to deir future dan de teacher.” Not Worth While. From the Miami (Fla.) Herald. The average flash of lightning contains only about 30 cents’ worth of electricity. Under those circumstances we won't try to save any. . r - Ls Political Influences And the Youth Program To the Editor of The Star: Your issue of September 19 contains an outline of what Willard E. Givens, executive secretary of the N. E. A, thinks of the “Youth Program” set up as & branch of the F. E. R. A. in the New Deal, which Givens calls a “Raw Deal for Public Schools.” Believing, as 1 do, in the educational experiments of the Federal Government as well as in many others outside the public school system—adult classes, vocational train- ing, parent education and rehabilitation, C. C. C. education in conjunction With valuable civic service, community open forums, educational forums for farmers, the educational program for the 4-H Clubs and the future farmers of Amer- ica, and many other mu‘ations of *he educational plant which are unniistak- able symptoms that the established species of education is headed toward extinction—I consider the “Youth Pro- gram” as a desirable educational experi- .ment, one that will be instructive to educators as well as to the public gen- erally. If the executive secretary is alarmed because he estimates it will take $2,225,- 000 to administrate a $50,000,00C educa- tional program—an overhead of less than 5 per cent—he must feel much greater alarm to find that, according to a recent survey, the benevolent *“non-political” Red Cross has an overhead of almost 60 per cent. The activities of this great organization permeate the life of all comununities and should be a subject of vital interest to educators who seek to prepare youth for the actualities of life. Its funds are also supplied by the public. ‘This program of education is prob- ably no more under the influence of pol- itics than is the educational leadership in the public school system. Educators have never been known to be timid about lobbying for their interests, nor have they been backward about pulling polit- ical wires in their local communities. Politics is merely the science and art of government and should be of vital con- cern to every citizen. It is an evil only when it is transformed into secret ma- nipulation and sugar-coated with ideal- ism. The principles involved in pol- itics and those involved in the whole subject of cost of administration, not merely of one industry but of all impor= tant industries, are proper subjects of discussion in our schools and the dis- cussions should be free, frank, open. If our educational leaders had the courage and wisdom to insist on such free dis- cussion in all schools there would not be the present widespread criticism that: “Only in the rarest instances does the school wage war on behalf of principles or ideals. Almost everywhere it is in the grip of conservative forces and is aerv- ing the cause of perpetuating ideas and institutions suited to an age that is gone.” When the Federal Trade Commission 8 few years ago exposed the corrupt secret alliance between professors and designing utility magnates and the great N. E. A, which Mr. Givens now serves, was asked to openly make war in behalf of the principles involved it pussyfooted the issue, merely passed innocuous res- olutions, and played for delays—politics of the wrong kind. We do not recall when educators have boldly and promptly waged war in behalf of the principle involved in real academic freedom by championing the cause of a Dr. Herbert A. Miller, a Prof. William E. Sealock, or any other of the hundreds of superior schoolmen who dared to make their faith whole with deed. We may be hopeful that the political influ- ences directing the “Youth Program” will, by their frank avowal that they are political, purify the politics of the management of the public school pro- Fram. O. J. SCHUSTER. R Offers Proposals for Safety in the Streets To the Editor of The Star: I wish to commend The Star for its efforts in improving traffic conditions in Washington, and in this connection have a few suggestions to make. Would it not be worth while in the interests of preserving the life of little children to make it unlawful for them to play in the city streets, especially while they are gyrating around on roller skates, express wagons, bicycles, tri- cycles and other paraphernalia? A child on roller skates speeding down the cen- ter of the street cannot control him- self or come to a complete stop fast enough to keep out of the way of a speeding automobile. Providing play- grounds or acquainting parents with the location of such playgrounds as already exist should help. More and adequate parking facilities for shoppers and theater-goers would get such automobiles as do go into the congested areas out of the way once they have reached their destination, in- stead of having them cruise about the streets in a vain effort to find a suitable parking space. Some stores, I believe, already are providing such service for their customers, Cannot the Police De- partment in the interest of safety sell this idea to those stores and theaters who are not in line? There should also be some regulation of busses now that their number on the streets has increased. These busses are forever swerving in and out of traffic lanes in an effort to keep on schedule and are impeding traffic. Every motorist knows where to look for a street car— in the middle of the street on the tracks—but a bus gets directly in front of a motorist and it is impossible to see ahead or around it. Transportation facilities are inade- quate for Washington's present popula- tion and, I believe, a subway would do a great deal toward emptying the streets of pedestrians and motorists and parked cars alike. People are dependent on their own automobiles to get them toand from work because transportation fa- cllities offered them are not dependable, M. DU BOIS BOLTON. Put Idle Men to Work in the Mines To the Editor of The Star: In The Star of a recent date I read a suggestion from a gentleman from Indianapolis, Ind.—Col. Edwin P. Thayer —in regard to taking 10,000 men off the relief rolls and putting them to digging for gold, silver, lead and other valuable metals. The idea has a wonderful ring. I would suggest 25000 men and 5000 women. The women could keep camp while the men kept busy prospecting. If properly managed money would be made, maybe enough to balance the budget. At least the men would earn their wages. They should be eneour- aged by paying them a premium on their findings. 1t is as plain as day that there are no jobs for the idle millions. We have enough roads for auto slaughter. Why build more? Mass production on farms and fac- tories have ample help, the mercantile business is cornered by the chain stores. Only small sustenance farms are left for the men on the corners. Let us hope that Hopkins will try out the mining proposition. It can’t be as bad as idle relief, which ruins men and wastes.money. A. J. WARREN, ) THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, Gardens, like good soldiers, are mark= ing time now. They are in repose, waiting for the marching porders of Autumn. ‘When are received, one by one they will go into Nature’s never-never land, where all good annual flowers go. The perennials will die down, in some cases, in others simply lose a few of their leaves, Some will become trown, others stay green. A touch of yellow will tinge the tips of evergreens, and the famous Jack Frost will cause tree leaves to turn yel- low and gold and red. Already there are red leaves to be found on walks in suburban areas where the first traces of Fall have reached. City streets are more protected, not only by houses, but by higher tempera- tures as well. Along them soon we shall hear again the ageless rustle of dried leaves, pre- cious memories bringing to all. * X ¥ ¥ “Look up, not down,” is not good Autumn advice. Down, rather than up, is the proper direction. Most of the changes are low. Even the leaves on the trees fall. Per- haps the only exception lies in the trees themselves. Their great masses of yellow and red leaves are worth looking up to, in the ordinary cares of the day. Now come the hours when homes re- appear, having been hid all Summer by the masses of leaves. This annual disappearance and reap- pearance of houses has something of ordinary magic in it. Not in the twinkling of an eye, of course, but over a period of days, they come into view again. Perhaps from every window in the suburbs, if not in the city, this magic may be witnessed. Usually there is one home, at least, which disappears completely with the leafing out of the trees in the Spring. All Summer long it is as if it did not exist, as far as the spectator from that particular window knows. 1t is there, he realizes, but not to the sense of sight. Only his mind tells him, just as it knows about London, although he has never seen London. Thus in a simple homely way he is brought to realize that many things he cannot see nevertheless exist just as firmly as if he could. He knew it all along, of course, but sometimes it is helpful to have it proved in larger quantities than a microscope reveals. * x x = The motorist misses much of the beauty of the season. He hurries dowp town in the morn- ing, and back home in the evening, too intent on traffic to observe the chang- ing city. Or, if he does give it a thought, he merely says to himself, or to a com- panion, “Aren't those trees beautiful?” He has no time to study the thing in itself, and for itself, nor any ability to stop to pick up a fallen leaf. Yet there is something about handling the leaves and flowers that cannot be replaced by any other means of Nature study; there is something in the feel and heft of a leaf that does not come out by eye or mind, even. * ok ok And it isn't just one's garden or one’s STARS, MEN own street the friend of natural things ought to notice alone, but the whole scene presented by the streets and parks of the urban and suburban scene, Should be noticed, that is, if one likes to notice such things, and finds it an interesting and thrilling part of life to do so. And we don't mean just the little noticing that ever the least imag- inative of men does, but the larger, the more definite observation of the per- son honestly attuned to such things be- cause he cannot help himself, Something in his life and character, in his very blood and bones, calls out, as deep to deep, at the sight of hills and streams, oceans and rivers, fields and meadows, and the city streets with their changing traffic lights at night, and the big public buildings and the majestic Monument, and the hundred and one little natural sights to be seen every- where by the eye eager for such things. Those who lack this eagerness must get their pleasure somewhere else, and probably a great deal more expensively, but those who naturally are inclined this way find everything to their pleas- ure, as if disposed by eternal Providence mainly for that purpose and apparently none other. o ox ok ‘The motorist as naturally cuts him- self off from much of this as the pedes- trian, or shall we not simply say walker, naturally receives and understands it. The whole thing brings itself down to 8 question of time. The man awheel bas rio time for anything put the wheel, the man afoot has time f0r his feet and much besides. The man who walks, whether we dub him pedestrian or not, can see and note. He can stop stock-still if he wants to, because it is in the nature of feet and legs to stop as well as to run. The trouble with the motor car, as we see it, is that its very nature, as decreed by man in the beginning, is to run, and to run faster and faster all the time. Not that it cannot stop or run slow, but the presiding genius in the bowels of the thing says “no.” “yes,” it is explosion saying “go,” and collision is the natural end of it all. * x % % In the garden, now, if you have the | ) time for it and are more or less im- mobile, you will find the white ageratum in bloom. Every one knows the blue kind, but not every one is familiar with the white sort. It is a worthwhile addi- tion to the garden picture, but we prefer the sturdy old blue variety. There is the blue salvia, too. Every one knows the red salvia, but not every one the blue, yet it is one of the most dependable bloomers of all. It has been bldoming steadily since early June, Many flowers are advertised to do that, but not many really do. Some flower a few weeks, then stop for several weeks, then start up again later, but the blue salvia has been at it steadily for three solid months, in its quiet way. There are still marigolds and zinnias in blossom, pointing once more to the good qualities of these plants in the average home garden, which is not a show place, by any means, but where some modicum of rest and quiet lingers from a traffic-mad world. Last night great flocks of birds, on their way south, nested in our trees, singing an evening song of many chirp- ings for the adventure of tomorrow. Whether we stay here or go around the world, every tomorrow is adventure. AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. Mrs. Sinanthropus—who kept house in a cave near Peking about two million years ago—apparently was a slovenly housewife. She didn’t bother to sweep out her | garbage after a heavy meal, and as a result Dr. Ralph W. Chaney, research | associate of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, has been able to recon- struct the earliest known human diet. The scraps from the dinner table became fossilized and deeply imbedded in rock. | The ashes of the kitchen fire turned to | stone with all the partly burned frag- | ments that had been tossed into it. | These not only tell the story of what | Sinanthropus ate. but the kind of cli- mate and surroundings in which he | passed his days. The remains of Sinanthropus, discov- ered about eight years ago in the Chi- nese cave, are those of one of three of | the earliest known pre-human creatures. Although showing a considerable evolu- tionary advance toward true man, they date geologically with the remains of the celebrated ape man of Java. The creatures lived at about the beginning of the ice ages. The inner contour of the skull indicates that they were able to talk. They made weapons and built fires. The other pre-human bones of essen- tially the same period, found in Java and England, evidently had been washed far from their original sites. They reveal nothing of the way of life of their owners. These Chinese bones were found in the actual home of the ape men, imbedded in rock in the interior of an ancient cave. scientist was especially interested in the ashes of the fireplace. From the speci- mens it contained a great deal might be learned of the daily life of the ancient people who were the ancestors or close relatives of the human race of today. He made a systematic study of the world’s oldest kitchen. Several significant discoveries, Dr. Chaney announces, were made in the ash layers. Bits of incompletely burned wood have been identified as similar to plants now living in Northern China and in other lands with a cool, dry cli- mate. Abundant fragments of charred bones indicate that the cave people ate steaks of horses, bison, rhinoceri and other big game animals, which have no living relatives in the region. These bones indicate that Sinan- thropus lived in a plains country, prob- ably with trees confined to the stream borders, as in semi-arid regions today. The fact that he lived in caves and made fires to keep himself warm or cook his food indicates that the climate was cold. During the same period much of North America and Europe was covered with great ice sheets, but Asia was relatively {ree from them. About 20 feet above the lowest level of human occupation there is a layer several inches thick made up of thou- sands of fragments of shells of seeds. The markings on their surface indicate that they were hackberry seeds. The hackberry still is abundant in both North America and Asia. It is most charac- teristic of semi-arid hillsides and stream borders. It seems certain, Dr. Chaney says, that the hackberries were carried into the cave and their shells crushed while they were being eaten. The fruits are like small cherries, skin and pith inclosing a shell within which lies the seed. In the more arid parts of the United States these fruits are eaten in abundance by both birds and rodents, as well as by man. The question arose whether the berries were used by man The Carnegie Institution | or animal. They might have been car- ried into the cave by rats. Dr. Chaney has been able to solve this | question by a complicated bit of scien- tific reconstruction. All authorities agreed that the animals would chew a small opening on one side of the shell rather than crush it into fragments, as was the case in the cave. Dr. Chaney fed dried hackberries to caged rodents at | the University of California, but could not induce them to eat the fruit. Caged monkeys ate them, but crushed the shells between their teeth and swallowed them. most frequently used by modern Indians as flavoring for meat or bread. The strained away and cooked with other food. This leaves a residue of shell fragments that are cast aside which look very much like those found in the Chinese cave. Hence, Dr. Chaney concludes, ancient man probably used them in the same way. He prepared his meals much in the way of the present natives of the Southwest. The hackberries probably provided some needed vitamins which enabled him to survive in the cold, in- hospitable region. They constituted the “orange juice” of Sinanthropus babies. Mrs. Sinanthropus, in effect, kept a diary long before anybody dreamed of writing. Every time she cooked food or threw garbage into the fire she made an entry recording the life of the family for the day. The forces of nature pre- through the long ages, waiting for some one to arrive who was competent to translate them. Unbearable Din of Fourteenth Street Cars To the Editor of The Star: I desire herewith to register a com- ment, both timely and caustic, in re the unearthly and uncalled for noises created by the street cars racing up and down the hills of the upper reaches of Fourteenth street. Apparently a vast majority of the rolling stock is -of the vintage of a 1911 model T Ford and, what with the clanking and grinding and screeching of wheels upon the steel rails, the rheumatic stopping and start- ing, the opening and closing of the rattletebang doors, particularly in the seasonal sleeping hours of night, a foun- dation is laid for about the most perfect nightmare the human mind in its wild- est flights of delirium could conjure up. If these impressions are registered on a strong and healthy person, what must necessarily be the effect on the aged, weak and ill? A most timely and appropriate epi- grammatic remark was made concerning the Capital’s street cars by a clever and popular comedian while he was playing at a local theater recently. Being dis- turbed throughout the better part of the first night he was in the city by their incessant clanging and rattling of run- ning gears, loose, banging doors; squeak- ing, groaning bodies, and screaming, grinding wheels, he said: “It sounds like all hell going for a sleighride.” They appear to hurtle along at a speed far in excess of what must be law, and most emphatically at & speed that is far from safe. Busses, almost noiseless, are running on other streets with reported success, so why cannot Fourteenth street, a major artery of the city, be | similarly blessed? - t A D. HAYWORTH. e Y It is chemistry saying | On the other hand, hackberries are | fruits are crushed fine and the liquid | served some of her unlettered notations | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS By Frederic ]. Haskin. A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Washing- ton Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederie J. Haskin, Director, Washing- ton, D, C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. What is the name of the cowboy song which John Boles sang at Wil Rogers’ funeral?—M. J. R. A. The correct name is “Ole Faithful Q. How much money do Americans manage to spend on foreign lotteries in a year?—J. G. B. A. Representative Kenney of New Jersey, author of a bill ta establish a national lottery, estimates that about $200,000,000 is taken out of the United States by foreign lotteries. The Post Office Department places the figure much higher, asserting that it has reached $1,000,000,000 a year. Q. Is it dangerous to smoke after take ing an alcohol rub?—M. T. A. The National Safety Council says that persons have died from lighting matches before the alcohol vapor has disappeared. Q. How long have there been rein- deer in Iceland?—N. L. A. They were introduced into Iceland in 1770. Q. When did Speaker Thomas B. Reed answer critics of the administration re- garding a billion-dollar appropriation to be spent over a two-year period, by saying: “This is a billion-dollar coun- trx"?—J. A. C. A. It was in his valedictory at the close of the Fifty-first Congress, in March, 1891, Q. What per cent of the population of the United States is now in the birth registration area?—A. C. A. The entire population has been since 1933 in registration areas for births and deaths. Q. Who first used colored cartoons?— B A. Joseph Keppler, founder of Puck, s the first person in the United States to apply color lithography to caricature, Q. Who was Joe Miller, who compiled the joke book?—E. F. A. Joseph or Josias Miller was an English comedian, for many years a favorite at Drury Lane, where he plaved minor comedy roles. He was illiterate and learned his parts by hearing them read by his wife. As compiler of “Joe Miller's Jests” he is chiefly remembered. Q. How many acres of land are planted | to soy beans in the United States?— C.N.L. A. There are now more than 5,000,000 acres in soy beans. Q. Please give some information about Pauline Bonaparte.—M. J. A. (Marie) Pauline Bonaparte was Napoleon's favorite sister. She was a woman of remarkable beauty, but of a vain frivolous character, the subject of considerable scandal. She accompanied her husband, Gen. Le Clerc, on the ex- pedition to Haiti and created a deep impression by her luxurious life in a castle on that island. Later Napoleon married her to Camilla Borghese, but the marriage was of short duration. Pauline fell into disfavor with her brother because of her hostility to Empress Marie Louise. When Napoleon's forune failed, however, she showed herself more loval than any of his other brothers and sisters. Q. How did the Jimson weed gel its name?—H. M. A. The jimson weed or Jamestown weed derived its name from the fact that Capt. John Smith of the® James- town colonists reported its effects as early as 1607. Q. Where did Geraldine Farrar study music?—J. H. A. Her musical education was received in Paris under Trabedello and in Berlin under Lilli Lehmann. Q. How long is the Rhone Glacier? —W. A, A. It is about 6 miles long and gives origin to the Rhone River. Q. Who founded the first hospital in the United States?—R. W. A. Thomas Bond (1712-1784), an Amer- ican physician, founded the first hos- pital in the United States, was influ- ential in establishing the first medical school, and according to Benjamin Rush, introduced the use of mercury into gen- eral practice in Philadelphia. He aroused the interest of Benjamin Franklin in a hospital for the sick, injured or insane, and together they secured the funds to open it in 1752 Bond gave his serv- ices as physician to the institution until his death. Q. What does the expression to fight like Kilkenny cats mean?—M. H. A. To fight till both sides have lost their all; to fight with the utmost de- termination and pertinacity. The story is that during the Irish rebellion in 1798 Kilkenny was garrisoned by a troop of Hessian soldiers, who amused themselves by tying two cats together by their tails and throwingethem across a clothes line to fight. The authorities resolved to put a stop to the “sport,” but, on the officer on duty approaching, one of the troopers cut the two tails with a sword, and the cats made off. When the officer inquired the meaning of the bleeding tails, he was told that two cats had been fighting and had devoured each other all but the tails. Q. What is the origin of the essay? —H. F. A. It is derived from the Essais of Montaigne, who created the form. A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton Meadow Beauty In rainy dusks I sometimes seck the fields Where sodden grasses swish with every tread And goldenrad, rearing a yellow head, Its little pennyworth of sunshine yields And the red clover underneath my feet Drenches the air with odors honey- sweet. ¢ A gust lof rain blows off the milkweed's plume To scatter it, adrift, over the fields, A wet brown woodpecker his hammer wields Tapping a tree trunk, and on sparkling loom A spider weaves from yellowing leaf to green, From dripping bush to weeds of varied sheen. A panaces for a man's fagged braln— September meadows in a twilight rain, £~